HYROX may still be a young sport but it’s already been around long enough to spark much debate about who are the greatest athletes to line up in the start tunnel. On the women’s side you won’t get very far without hearing Linda Meier’s name being mentioned.
After making her debut in 2019 in Essen, Linda quickly earned her place among the elite and competed in her first world championship in 2021, finishing 6th. Multiple Pro wins followed and in 2022 she was 2nd at the world championships behind Kris Rugloski.
By that point she was a fixture in the Elite 15, consistently placing high in the Majors while balancing a full-time job as an IT professional at home in Germany.
In 2025 she finally reached the top of the sport at the World Championships in Chicago. She fought off strong challenges from Joanna Wietrzyk, Lauren Weeks and so many of the big names that we are familiar with today to become world champion.
We spoke to Linda ahead of her first race in the 26/27 season in Istanbul to look back on her career in HYROX, and find out what’s coming next.
Standing in the start tunnel before an Elite 15 race brings Linda Meier a mixture of emotions.
There is excitement, but also an unavoidable sense of apprehension. She knows the challenge ahead, but she also knows how many athletes would love the opportunity to stand where she is.
“There is pressure and maybe a little fear because you know the next hour will hurt,” Meier explained. “But most of the time, I’m really excited. It’s an honor to race at that level.”
From First-Time Racer to World Champion
Meier did not grow up focused on one sport. She swam, competed in athletics and later trained in the gym while studying at university. It was not until HYROX entered her life that she found a sport she wanted to pursue consistently.
Her first race in Essen was supposed to be something fun to do with friends.
“I wasn’t really a racing person in the past,” she said. “Friends of mine wanted to do a HYROX, and I thought, ‘Okay, I can try it.’”
Meier finished second at HYROX Essen in 2019. Her performance immediately established her as one of the competition’s leading women and earned her a place at the World Championships.
What began as an experiment eventually led to the biggest achievement of her career. After finishing second at the 2022 World Championships, Meier claimed the Elite Women’s world title in 2025.
Even then, becoming world champion had never felt inevitable.
“I never really thought I could become world champion,” she admitted. “The combination of working and sport is very hard to balance. I don’t have the capacity to train three times a day and recover like a full-time athlete.”
Meier knew she was capable of competing with the best women in the sport, but she also understood the size of the challenge.
“The chance of becoming world champion, next to so many great women who put 120% into the sport every day, felt like a very small window of opportunity,” she said.
That made finally winning the title even more meaningful.
“I still give 100% to the sport every day, even though I don’t have as much time. Becoming world champion is the greatest gift you can receive when you put so much work into something you really love.”
Balancing HYROX With a Full-Time Career
While many of her rivals are now professional athletes, Meier continues to work as an IT project manager.
She generally starts her day at around 5:00 or 5:30 a.m. and completes her first training session before beginning work. A second session may follow in the evening, depending on her workload.
“Getting the first training session done gives me a clear structure,” she explained. “Then I have enough time to do my job, and I already know that one part of my training is complete.”
When work prevents her from training twice during the week, she uses her weekends to make up the difference.
“My weekends are more or less full of training,” she said. “That’s absolutely okay for me because I love it.”
The arrangement leaves little room for the recovery available to a full-time professional athlete, making sleep and training management particularly important.
The Pressure of Defending the Title
Meier describes her HYROX career as a series of highs and lows.
A strong 2022 season ended with her taking second place at the world championships. The following campaign was, in her words, “really bad.” She then spent two years rebuilding before winning the world title in 2025.
The season that followed brought another downturn.
An injury disrupted her preparation, while carrying the title of world champion created a new kind of pressure.
“My last season wasn’t how I planned it,” she said. “I had a lot of ups and downs because of an injury and then a little more pressure from having the world champion title.”
Some of that pressure came from within.
“I think I put too much pressure on myself,” she said. “That held me back a little from showing what I’m really capable of.”
Meier finished 14th in the Elite Women’s race at the 2026 World Championships in Stockholm, one year after winning the title.
Rather than hiding from the disappointment, she is treating the campaign as a valuable lesson.
“It was a season where I could learn a lot,” she said. “But, to be honest, I’m really happy the season is over and I can start all over again.”
Finding the Right Equipment for HYROX
Meier has worked with PUMA since 2023 and says that having a major brand supporting her provides both practical assistance and reassurance while travelling to races around the world.
“At this level, it’s important to have someone behind you who supports you, asks questions and helps prepare for races,” she said.
Equipment has also become increasingly important as HYROX has developed.
A HYROX shoe must be light and efficient enough for eight kilometres of running while still providing the stability and grip required for stations such as the sled push, sled pull and lunges.
“In my first races, it was always a topic that we didn’t really have a good HYROX shoe,” Meier explained. “You need a shoe that helps you run very fast, but you also need stability for the workouts.”
Meier was involved in developing PUMA’s Deviate NITRO Elite HYROX footwear, which she wore while winning the 2025 world title.
“It’s very important to have equipment that supports you—not only to run fast, but also to race economically and stay injury-free,” she said.
A Fresh Challenge in Doubles
Meier’s next chapter could include a greater focus on doubles racing.
She plans to partner with fellow German athlete Svenja Sommer as the pair target a place in the Elite 15 Doubles field. Sommer’s running ability and Meier’s strength across the functional stations could make them a well-balanced partnership.
“She is much faster than me, but my stations are a little stronger,” Meier said. “I think that might be a good match.”
Meier has already demonstrated her strength as a doubles athlete, finishing third alongside Viola Oberländer at the 2025 World Championships and winning Pro Doubles races with athletes including Megan Jacoby.
The new partnership provides an opportunity to pursue something different after a demanding individual season.
Meier is also open to experiencing more of what HYROX offers beyond the traditional race calendar. She has competed across several continents, including at the 2024 Hong Kong event, and would like to race in Japan in the future.
Paris’ Grand Palais remains her favourite venue, although a race in the stadium of her hometown football club, MSV Duisburg, would carry special significance.
“I don’t think that will ever happen,” she joked. “But it would be very nice.”
Learning to Adapt
Meier may value structure in her working and training life, but she knows a race cannot be completely controlled.
Conditions inside the venue, how her body feels and the behaviour of the athletes around her can all force a plan to change.
“Of course, I have a strategy in my mind,” she said. “But racing always depends on so many outside factors.”
“When someone goes really hard on the first run, that affects your own race, even though you try to focus on yourself. It’s good to have a strategy, but in reality, it’s quite hard to stick to it.”
That ability to adapt may be particularly valuable as Meier begins rebuilding after a challenging year.
Her journey has never followed a straight line. Poor seasons have been followed by breakthroughs, and disappointment has repeatedly become the starting point for another climb.
For now, Meier is looking forward to removing some of the pressure, taking what she has learned and beginning again.
She already knows how far that process can take her.
Watch more interviews on the BOXROX YouTube Channel.
